The
music of Muslimgauze is extremely political yet one can appreciate and enjoy
it without really understanding many of the political statements embedded
in each release. For those who have
some appreciation for the subject matter, the album and track titles
represent an integral part of the overall Muslimgauze experience.

Often the
names of each musical piece send the mind of the listener on intrepid
excursions to far off lands, through bustling street markets, into
neo-Islamic mosques, down dark curfewed streets and into forbidden
nightclubs of fabled-futuristic Arabia to come. The titles
of each track and each
release linger in the mind, like a collage of headlines from newspapers
and broadcasts on short-wave radio and static-burned AM frequencies heard
all over the middle east.

There
are so many beautiful titles that have no political import at all; they
simply capture a scene, a sun-soaked portrait of life very far from the
West. Take for instance:

The Nile is blue around Elephantine island
(Izlamaphobia)Alms and gold dust (Gun Aramaic Part
2)Camel abuse does not egzist in Mogadisu (Fatah Guerrilla CD3-Chechnya over Dub)Batik
cloth with a hand painted Garuda (Jaal Ab Dullah)Girl who lived inside
a sitar (Tandoori Dog)Green is the colour of the Prophet (Coup
d'Etat)

These
are in stark contrast to the much more violent and frightening images in
such titles as:

Bloodstain
(Betrayal)Jerusalem Knife (Hamas Arc)Strap sticks of dynamite
around her body (Vampire of Tehran)Bled to Death (Zealot)Pakistani Nuclear Box (Blue Mosque)Cloud of Myrrh and Teargas
over Galilee (Zuriff Moussa)

These are just a few examples and there are of course many
more. We would like to present an exploration into some of the more
obscure and intriguing subjects of Muslimgauze.

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A Brief Glossary of Terms to Consider

What follows is a list
of terms used as track titles, album titles, and subject matter considered
useful in better understanding the concepts behind the music and politics
of Muslimgauze. Some
terms and titles will be more in depth than others. These definitions are
all based on this author's subjective interpretation and research and no
claim is made that Bryn authenticated any definition here. This list will
be updated often.

Al-Zulfiquar Shaheed - Former Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
father of Benazir Bhutto, won a landslide victory with
his new Pakistani Peoples Party and was subsequently subject to a coup
d'etat by the military junta. Mercilessly and
despicably assassinated on April 4, 1979.http://www.pakcyber.com/ppp/founder/zabbiodata.html

Arab
Quarter - The Arab section of a town or city. Presumably referring to
Arab Quarters in various cities in Israel.

Azzazin/Azzazin 2 - A transliteration of Assassin which originates
from an Arabic term Hashishin, one who has drunk of the hashish. Under its
influence the Assassins of the East, followers of the Shaikh al-Jabal (Old
Man of the Mountain), were said to
commit the murders required by their chief.

Beit
Nuba - one of three Palestinian villages destroyed by Israeli forces
after the cease fire of the war of 1967. (Track title from "Citadel")

Betrayal - A referral
to Arafat shaking hands with Yitzak Rabin, a
representation of capitulation and cooperation between the PLO and the
government of Israel.

Bhutto - The surname of the famous
Pakistani political family which includes Former Prime Ministers Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
and daughter former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. For a biography of daughter Benazir Bhutto, click the following link:http://www.pakcyber.com/ppp/biography.html

Black
September, The Return of - Palestinian terrorist
group formed in response to Jordan's King Hussein attempt to drive
Palestinians out of Jordan in September 1970. Black September was
responsible for taking hostage Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games
in Munich. Eleven Israeli athletes were killed.
Associated with Abu Nidal.

Blue
Mosque - The great Blue Mosque of Istanbul. One of the principal mosques in Turkey.
Also called Sultan Ahmet Mosque. The Mosque was built in just 7 years during the first and second
decades of the 1600s in Istanbul by master Ottoman architect Sinan. The
Mosque stands as one of the great architectural
masterpieces in the Middle East.

Djinn, City of
- In Arabic
and Islamic folklore, spirit or demon with supernatural powers, especially
of changing size and shape. Both good and evil, djinn
are popular figures in Middle Eastern literature,
particularly in the Thousand and One Nights. Genie is the English form.

Coup
D'Etat - A sudden, decisive exercise of power whereby the
existing government is subverted without the consent of the people, in a
more or less violent fashion.

Drugsherpa - The
Sherpa are a Tibetan people living on the high southern slopes of the
Himalayas.

Druse - A religiously liberal,
non-fundamentalist faction of Islam which believes in reincarnation and
the teachings of Muhammad but do not condemn drinking alcohol,
fornication, resurrection, fasting or the hajj to Holy Mecca. (track from
Bandit Queen)

Fakir
Sind - A
concatenation of two words, Fakir is a common name, Sind a southern
province of Pakistan.

Fatah Guerrilla - Fatah is the mainstream faction of
the PLO, headed by Palestinian President and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat

Fatwah - Legal opinion concerning
Islamic Law.

Fedayeen
-suicide squads, literally "those who sacrifice themselves"

Ferdowsi - A Persian poet born in
the 940s in the Khorasan region of Iran, Ferdowsi is best known for his
famous epic poem The Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings). Dedicated to Soltan
Mahmoud, The Shah nameh tells the early Persian
history mixed with some fiction through about 60,000 couplets. (Track
title from Citadel) A translation of the text can be found at:http://www.cit.ics.saitama-u.ac.jp/hobbies/iran/shahnameh.html

Gulf
Between Us - A double entendre referring to both the differences
between the Arab/western (Palestinian/Israeli) worlds and the actual
Persian Gulf.

Gun
Aramaic/Gun Aramaic Part 2 - Concatenation of two
words, Gun and Aramaic. The word gun needs no explanation, Aramaic
however, is an ancient language spoken in Syria and Mesopotamia which eventually replaced Hebrew during the time
of the biblical Jesus. A modern version of Aramaic is still spoken in
small villages. Biblical scholars primarily use the antiquated version of
the language.

Hajj
- One
of the five pillars of Islam, the journey to the Holy city of Mecca

Hamas
- An
acronym for The Islamic Resistance Movement formed in
1987 dedicated to the restoration of an Islamic Palestinian State. Hamas
is almost exclusively portrayed as a terrorist organization in western media however the number of members of
Hamas is in the area of tens of thousands and includes a variety of social
services, homeless shelters, food distribution centers, schools,
hospitals, clinics, low cost housing, financial assistance and religious
schooling throughout Palestine's Gaza and West Bank.
Hamas members have run candidates for elections and do stage many peaceful
political activities. There are indeed hard-core militant Hamas members
who are responsible for violent and terrorist acts but they are certainly
in the vast minority.

Hebron Massacre - A
reference to the 29 Palestinian worshipers who were massacred by an
Israeli settler with an automatic weapon while they were praying at the
Abraham (Ibrahimi) Mosque on February 25, 1994 in the
holy West Bank city of Hebron.

Hussein Jeeb - A concatenation of two words, Hussein
is a common name, Jeeb is a Palestinian village

Iz el-Deen - Also known as
Al-Qassam, an armed militant faction of Hamas responsible for bombings
(including a large number of suicide bombings), assassinations, and
kidnappings of those opposed to its existence.

Izlamaphobia - A term to
describe the irrational fear of Islam.

Jarnail Singh - Leader of
a Sikh community in Punjabi who was taken by the Indian Mansa district police in 1993 and held for approximately two
weeks before mysteriously disappearing. Thought to have been murdered by
the government of Indira Ghandhi.

Jazirat-Ul-Arab - According to the Arabs, Arabia is an
island, an arid subcontinent separated from Africa, Asia and Europe by
seas of sand. The word "Jazîrat" means "island", thus
the term translates as, "Arab Island".

Jellaba - Jellaba is the ruling social group
who control most of the politics and economics as well as culture, and
ultimately, the corrupt legal system of Sudan. Vanilla Jellaba is a track
from the excellent album, Izlamaphobia. For more
information on Sudan and the Jellaba, visit this site:http://www.operation-nehemiah.org/SPLA.html

Kabul
- The capital city of Afghanistan. A city in ruins due to the horrors
of an 18 year ongoing war which has devastated that country. For more
information on the situation in Afghanistan, read this statement on the
Conditions in Afghanistan by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for
South Asian Affairs as presented before the House International Relations
Committee:http://www.state.gov/www/regions/sa/afghan971022.html

Katyusha -
Russian-made rocket frequently used in attacks against Israel

Khan
Younis - (from Hamas Arc) Second-largest city of the Gaza Strip and home of the second largest refugee
camp

Lahore & Marseille - Lahore is a city in Pakistan, Marseille is a city in France, Presumably this is a
geographic range from Europe to Asia where lies the land called "The Middle East".

Maroon -
This is a reference to the "marooned" state of being which describes
the Palestinian people.

Mazar-I-sharif - A city considered to
be a stronghold of Taliban opposition forces in Northern Afghanistan
overtaken by the Taliban in August 1998.

Mullah
Said - A double entendre which can be translated as a particular Mullah of the surname "Said" or a statement "The Mullah said..." A Mullah is a religious
leader trained in the doctrine and law of Islam, often the head of a Mosque.

Salaam Alekum - The Arabic expression
"Salaam wa Aleikum" in English means, "Peace be With You." Used both in
greetings and departures as "hello" and "goodbye".

Uzbekistani Bizzare And Souk - A title
referring to two very famous markets, the Bizare of
Uzbekistan (a predominantly Arab country of the former
Soviet Union) and the world famous Souk market of Marakesh which is legendary for being a place where anything
can be bought or sold.

Vampire Of Tehran
-
Iranian serial killer, 28-year-old Gholamreza Khoshrou
Kouran Kordieh. Khoshrou was condemned to 10 death sentences this month
after confessing on television to the kidnap, rape and murder of nine
girls and women aged 10 to 47 in four the course of four months during
1997. His death sentence was carried out when he was publicly hanged from
a mobile crane on 13 August 1997.

Veiled
Sisters - A
reference to the women of Islam. Also, allegedly a reference to AK-47s
under wraps (can anyone confirm this?)

Zul'm - Also "Zulüm", a Turkish word meaning "torture". The human rights
record in Turkey is appalling and torture is both widespread and
systematic.

Zuriff
Moussa - Moussa
is the name of a Hamas Martyr. Zurif is a Palestinian village.

All research
by J. and Ares Solis.
Please send any additions or corrections or further requests for definitions
to Ares Solis